The apartment building the chessboard is on, 212 east 48th street, used to be twice as big before the office building was built.

[P Weiss, 07/17/2014]

Giant Wall Chessboard

When the building at 767 3rd Avenue was built, its owners decided to install a giant (four-story-high!) vertical chessboard on the adjacent nine-story apartment house. The board is used to recreate great chess matches of the past, as blue and beige playing pieces two feet in diameter are moved each Wednesday at noon. A flag, flying to the board's left, heralds which color moves next, or whether a match has reached checkmate.

A permanent plaque below the board refers pedestrians to the lobby of the building where the concierge can supply a bulletin with playing tips and information on the match in progress. You need to be on 48th Street to see the board.